(CLOSED) Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE and VILLAS Information Thread ~2012~

[Doctor Mouse]

The bad news: fire alarm testing from 11-2 today.

The good news: if there really is a fire, you definitely won't sleep through it!

 

["Cinder" Ella's Mom]

The bad news: fire alarm testing from 11-2 today.

The good news: if there really is a fire, you definitely won't sleep through it!

Thanks for the update! Hope you have a great trip and enjoy Chef Mickeys.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Very sad news for us, Randy has left and been promoted to something on Team
Disney.... Tina has taken his lace, has been with Disney for 19 years, recently at AKL... We talked at length today, and she seems very nice... But I miss seeing Randy.

So glad we got a stay in with Randy before he moved on!!! He was wonderful!!!

But for him!! He deserves it! He made our trip super special!!

 

[scanne]

So excited to say I get to go back sooner than I hoped...
I have THE BEST MOM in the world!!!!

 

[VbChristy]

Checked in! They were unable to honor our request for connecting rooms although the CM was on the phone checking for about ten minutes. She said they were so full that there were no connecting a available either today or tomorrow. :-(

In a pair of adjoining standard rooms over looking the infamous loading dock. I will report on noise tomorrow but so far so good.

Otherwise, just catching up during nap time. A nice afternoon in the pool interrupted by a brief rain shower. After nap, it is dinner with Chef Mickey!

Please keep us posted about the room noise. I will be checking in tomorrow and am very curious. I have a feeling we will be in a loading dock room as well. Darn very crowded and the stupid fire alarms.

 

[yolie912]

Just wanted to give you an update. I finally got
CL for our last night! Today is my LUCKY DAY! #happy

 

[Dudetrue]

I am hoping to order room service while at WL, but my food has to be gluten free. Has anyone here ordered room service from WL with a special dietary need? How did it go? I think I may call Wilderness Lodge and ask a chef about this prior to our trip, but it's always nice to hear about others' experiences.

I just spoke on the phone yesterday with the chef from WL. They are wonderful about cooking foods for special diets. I suggest you email disney at specialdiets@disneyworld.com and tell them your needs. They will send you a form to fill out with your ADRs and other places you intend to dine. The chefs will call you about your needs and discuss the best way to accomodate you. The chef from WL is very nice and I have no fear of ordering from the room service menu and letting them know what the chef and I discussed.

 

[WDWKOOK]

Very sad news for us, Randy has left and been promoted to something on Team
Disney.... Tina has taken his lace, has been with Disney for 19 years, recently at AKL... We talked at length today, and she seems very nice... But I miss seeing Randy.

I PM'd you yesterday, but want everyone to know that Randy, the CL manager, is actually just on a temporary assignment for 3-6 months with their Line of Business.

The bad news: fire alarm testing from 11-2 today.

The good news: if there really is a fire, you definitely won't sleep through it!

So glad we got a stay in with Randy before he moved on!!! He was wonderful!!!

But for him!! He deserves it! He made our trip super special!!

The move is only temporary

So excited to say I get to go back sooner than I hoped...
I have THE BEST MOM in the world!!!!

Yes, you do! How exciting!

Please keep us posted about the room noise. I will be checking in tomorrow and am very curious. I have a feeling we will be in a loading dock room as well. Darn very crowded and the stupid fire alarms.

Now YOU can keep everyone posted. Hope you have a super-quiet stay

Just wanted to give you an update. I finally got
CL for our last night! Today is my LUCKY DAY! #happy

Persistence paid off

I just spoke on the phone yesterday with the chef from WL. They are wonderful about cooking foods for special diets. I suggest you email disney at specialdiets@disneyworld.com and tell them your needs. They will send you a form to fill out with your ADRs and other places you intend to dine. The chefs will call you about your needs and discuss the best way to accomodate you. The chef from WL is very nice and I have no fear of ordering from the room service menu and letting them know what the chef and I discussed.

Thank you for posting the email address

 

[scanne]

KOOK - Randy's move is temporary? My parents got to know him over the summer. They thought he was fantastic! I know my dad believes he is destined for Disney greatness! But they'd love to see him again.

Thanks!

 

[Doctor Mouse]

Great dinner at Chef Mickeys last night. The food was ...well, you don't go for the food but everyone in our party did find something that they were able to enjoy. Kudos to the fantastic CM's! Even amidst all the chaos, Mickey and the gang really took time with each child. Minnie even sat with us and had a long "discussion" with my DD who told her that she could have a fork and spoon but not a knife. Minnie then collected all the knives from our table and put them out of reach of the kids. So cute.

When we left, everyone was tired and just wanted to get back to the lodge. Unfortunately, as soon as we boarded out boat, the electric water show slid in front of the WL marina. We were stuck but our great boat captain didn't miss a beat and sailed us out into the middle of Bay Lake. All of a sudden BOOM! FLASH! and "Hallow" Wishes erupted over the MK. We stayed on the water and watched the whole show!

Back at the lodge, some funny business is still going on with fire alarm and electrical testing. We heard a few alarm chirps around midnight and the infamous loading dock rooms provided a rather loud hum from what sounded like a huge truck idling outside the window. I think it was actually a test of the WL back up power generators as there was a note about electrical testing in the room. Well, along with the fire alarms, we now know the generators work too!

We live in a big city and are used to ambient noise but this made it a tough slog for a few hours last night. Off to MK today and will see if we can talk/beg/bribe our way into FLE.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Great dinner at Chef Mickeys last night. The food was ...well, you don't go for the food but everyone in our party did find something that they were able to enjoy. Kudos to the fantastic CM's! Even amidst all the chaos, Mickey and the gang really took time with each child. Minnie even sat with us and had a long "discussion" with my DD who told her that she could have a fork and spoon but not a knife. Minnie then collected all the knives from our table and put them out of reach of the kids. So cute.

When we left, everyone was tired and just wanted to get back to the lodge. Unfortunately, as soon as we boarded out boat, the electric water show slid in front of the WL marina. We were stuck but our great boat captain didn't miss a beat and sailed us out into the middle of Bay Lake. All of a sudden BOOM! FLASH! and "Hallow" Wishes erupted over the MK. We stayed on the water and watched the whole show!

Back at the lodge, some funny business is still going on with fire alarm and electrical testing. We heard a few alarm chirps around midnight and the infamous loading dock rooms provided a rather loud hum from what sounded like a huge truck idling outside the window. I think it was actually a test of the WL back up power generators as there was a note about electrical testing in the room. Well, along with the fire alarms, we now know the generators work too!

We live in a big city and are used to ambient noise but this made it a tough slog for a few hours last night. Off to MK today and will see if we can talk/beg/bribe our way into FLE.

Wow! Your boat escapades sound absolutely magical! I just got choked up reading about it. That would have been one of those magic moments where if I were there, I would have been all

 

[DetTigsGal]

Just wanted to give you an update. I finally got
CL for our last night! Today is my LUCKY DAY! #happy

Congrats, your patience and persistence won out!!

 

[VbChristy]

Great dinner at Chef Mickeys last night. The food was ...well, you don't go for the food but everyone in our party did find something that they were able to enjoy. Kudos to the fantastic CM's! Even amidst all the chaos, Mickey and the gang really took time with each child. Minnie even sat with us and had a long "discussion" with my DD who told her that she could have a fork and spoon but not a knife. Minnie then collected all the knives from our table and put them out of reach of the kids. So cute.

When we left, everyone was tired and just wanted to get back to the lodge. Unfortunately, as soon as we boarded out boat, the electric water show slid in front of the WL marina. We were stuck but our great boat captain didn't miss a beat and sailed us out into the middle of Bay Lake. All of a sudden BOOM! FLASH! and "Hallow" Wishes erupted over the MK. We stayed on the water and watched the whole show!

Back at the lodge, some funny business is still going on with fire alarm and electrical testing. We heard a few alarm chirps around midnight and the infamous loading dock rooms provided a rather loud hum from what sounded like a huge truck idling outside the window. I think it was actually a test of the WL back up power generators as there was a note about electrical testing in the room. Well, along with the fire alarms, we now know the generators work too!

We live in a big city and are used to ambient noise but this made it a tough slog for a few hours last night. Off to MK today and will see if we can talk/beg/bribe our way into FLE.

Agreed that the boatride sounds amazing!!

I am a big saddened by the sleep interuptions and the noise. As my husband said, "That doesnt sound magical. I am surprised Disney would allow that." And I agree with that statement. With as much as what people pay per night to stay there, there should not be so interuptions to their magic and their sleep. This goes for the afternoon testing- when do children nap? In the afternoon? Why would that be the time to sound the alarm for several hours. There has to be another way. And why is it taking so long to get them worked out? Have you guys inquired about future testing?

I need to get off my crabby box! I have been sleeping poorly in my quiet comfortable home and I am afraid of my impending stay. Which is also making me crabby, as we wanted to change our flight so that we could spend the day at the lodge, but to no avail after 3 failed attempts. I am feeling the need for a sprinkle of Disney Magic - I just do not have it at the moment.

 

[yolie912]

Congrats, your patience and persistence won out!!

Thanks to everyone! Its funny because they even already knew me in there!
LOL
But I am happy I don't have to move around the last night.

 

[WDWKOOK]

So KOOK and other experts, as for CL rooms, I don't care about how far I am from the OFC. A little extra walking means another snack! As for views, a partial view of the castle isn't really important, I would rather see more of the lodge, probably not so much the villas. So, does that narrow it down? Any suggestions?

In that case, I would definitely recommend that you request an INNER or WL Courtyard View room. That way you can see plenty of Bay Lake, the EWP (and Yurts) the geyser and pool.

This is how it should look when you're there, but I took this from a 5th floor, South Wing room we had that came with CL access.

This is the view from one of the 7th floor lounge windows:

KOOK - Randy's move is temporary? My parents got to know him over the summer. They thought he was fantastic! I know my dad believes he is destined for Disney greatness! But they'd love to see him again.

Thanks!

Yes, 3-6 months and I agree with your parents

Great dinner at Chef Mickeys last night. The food was ...well, you don't go for the food but everyone in our party did find something that they were able to enjoy. Kudos to the fantastic CM's! Even amidst all the chaos, Mickey and the gang really took time with each child. Minnie even sat with us and had a long "discussion" with my DD who told her that she could have a fork and spoon but not a knife. Minnie then collected all the knives from our table and put them out of reach of the kids. So cute.

When we left, everyone was tired and just wanted to get back to the lodge. Unfortunately, as soon as we boarded out boat, the electric water show slid in front of the WL marina. We were stuck but our great boat captain didn't miss a beat and sailed us out into the middle of Bay Lake. All of a sudden BOOM! FLASH! and "Hallow" Wishes erupted over the MK. We stayed on the water and watched the whole show!

Back at the lodge, some funny business is still going on with fire alarm and electrical testing. We heard a few alarm chirps around midnight and the infamous loading dock rooms provided a rather loud hum from what sounded like a huge truck idling outside the window. I think it was actually a test of the WL back up power generators as there was a note about electrical testing in the room. Well, along with the fire alarms, we now know the generators work too!

We live in a big city and are used to ambient noise but this made it a tough slog for a few hours last night. Off to MK today and will see if we can talk/beg/bribe our way into FLE.

Still say they need to hand-out ear plugs and spa coupons. Did you make into the FLE preview?

Agreed that the boatride sounds amazing!!

I am a big saddened by the sleep interuptions and the noise. As my husband said, "That doesnt sound magical. I am surprised Disney would allow that." And I agree with that statement. With as much as what people pay per night to stay there, there should not be so interuptions to their magic and their sleep. This goes for the afternoon testing- when do children nap? In the afternoon? Why would that be the time to sound the alarm for several hours. There has to be another way. And why is it taking so long to get them worked out? Have you guys inquired about future testing?

I need to get off my crabby box! I have been sleeping poorly in my quiet comfortable home and I am afraid of my impending stay. Which is also making me crabby, as we wanted to change our flight so that we could spend the day at the lodge, but to no avail after 3 failed attempts. I am feeling the need for a sprinkle of Disney Magic - I just do not have it at the moment.

It's never good being tired and being tired on vacation seems worse because your expectations are so high and you have a lot of time and money invested. I wonder if other resorts are experiencing the prolonged testing as well?

 

[DetTigsGal]

Kook- looks like you might get the worse of Sandy...hope you have all your supplies

 

[guarn3md]

One week from today we will be in my most favorite place! Yay!! But now we have to deal with "Frankenstorm"! I can't believe this storm that may hit us! I hate that one of the models shows it coming up the bay!! We finally have a whole house generator and as long as my plane takes off at 7am on Friday from DCA, I'll be fine! Sent my room request to IPO. Asked for a room that was closer towards the bay with a courtyard view, preferably one facing the water. Hoping for one of the two rooms that faces Bay Lake but don't hold much hope! Right now all I want is to get to Disney!
Debbie

 

[luvfigment]

Has anyone had an experience with requesting bed rails? A pack and play is too small for DD and she doesn't sleep well in them. I just saw you can ask for them but wanted to get more info/feedback. Would it be better to bring my own inflatable ones? TIA

 

[MartyM]

I'm headed to the airport here in Raleigh in about 3 hours for my first CL at Disney and WL trip #2.

Can't flipping wait! Also, however, can't flipping sleep!

 

[WDWKOOK]

Kook- looks like you might get the worse of Sandy...hope you have all your supplies

Well, CT isn't in the clear either. I hope none of you lose power or have any flooding

One week from today we will be in my most favorite place! Yay!! But now we have to deal with "Frankenstorm"! I can't believe this storm that may hit us! I hate that one of the models shows it coming up the bay!! We finally have a whole house generator and as long as my plane takes off at 7am on Friday from DCA, I'll be fine! Sent my room request to IPO. Asked for a room that was closer towards the bay with a courtyard view, preferably one facing the water. Hoping for one of the two rooms that faces Bay Lake but don't hold much hope! Right now all I want is to get to Disney!
Debbie

You sound well prepared. Everything should be out of our area by Wed. so you shouldn't have any problem leaving Friday. Have a great vacation!

Has anyone had an experience with requesting bed rails? A pack and play is too small for DD and she doesn't sleep well in them. I just saw you can ask for them but wanted to get more info/feedback. Would it be better to bring my own inflatable ones? TIA

I haven't, but hopefully someone else can help you.

I'm headed to the airport here in Raleigh in about 3 hours for my first CL at Disney and WL trip #2.

Can't flipping wait! Also, however, can't flipping sleep!

Are you there yet? You can take a nice nap after you check-in, but I think you'll be too excited. Have a great first CL stay - you'll love it!